During a Wiscasset Board of Selectmen meeting Nov.16, former vice chairman of the Wiscasset school board Douglas Smith asked the board and Town Manager Laurie Smith to request a meeting with the Maine Dept. of Education (DOE) to explore ending the town’s association with RSU#12.
“The trends are alarming. The quality of education has not improved and our tax dollars are being disproportionately used to fund improvements in other towns,” said Smith.
In a letter distributed to the audience, Smith outlined a series of grievances with school consolidation including a drop in attendance, escalating teacher salaries, and a lack of financial or emotional connection to Wiscasset High School from other towns.
“The majority of high school students within the RSU tuition out, an option Wiscasset students currently do not have,” he said.
Smith accused the state of intentionally creating a “murky” series of policies surrounding school consolidation that he considered “impenetrable.”
Selectman Ed Polewarczyk echoed Smith’s sentiments with harsh language for the state’s methods of creating the controversial districts.
“I thought it was illegal to hold a gun to someone’s head to make them do something. This is what the state essentially did with our schools. I’m not sure this is even legal,” said Polewarczyk.
Other towns, most notably Alna, have expressed frustration with the cost associated with RSU#12 calling into question the fairness of the funding formula. Smith asked the board why Wiscasset should pay 35 percent of the cost when its high school, designed to hold 450 students, was accommodating only 212.
“There are as few as six students in some of these classes; not a sustainable situation,” Smith said.
In proposing the meeting with DOE officials, Smith, who resigned from the initial RSU committee in protest, is hoping to ascertain how the town could formally withdraw from the school district.
“We need to find out what options are available to us to maintain a high level of quality education,” he said.
The board passed a motion to allow the Wiscasset town manager to schedule a meeting with DOE officials, which according to Smith would carry more weight than an unofficial group of concerned citizens.
“I will warn you that this is going to be a process. I suggest we start small until the new administration is in place but am pleased to move forward,” he said.
After thanking the board, Smith received a round of applause from the audience, many of whom voiced similar frustrations with the concept of school consolidation. No timetable has been set for the meeting.
